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REVIEW: FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH - THE WRONG SIDE OF HEAVEN AND THE RIGHTEOUS SIDE OF HELL, VOL. 2 12/16/2013
Gweedo
Five Finger Death Punch’s The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell, Volume 2 came out just as the effects of Volume 1 were wearing off. Christmas came early with this and was quite a treat. It isn’t my favorite album. Although, I wouldn’t say it is bad at all. The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell, Volume 2 marks their fifth release. This time, there were no special guests, but it does feature the first song that guitarist Zoltan Bathory ever played and a remake of an old song from singer Ivan Moody. To some fans’ rejoice, I believe there are a few songs on this record that harken back to the self-produced debut album, Way Of The Fist, that many fans still think is their best . I will have to respectfully disagree and stand by my previous review that Volume 1 is my favorite.
Gweedo
Five Finger Death Punch’s The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell, Volume 2 came out just as the effects of Volume 1 were wearing off. Christmas came early with this and was quite a treat. It isn’t my favorite album. Although, I wouldn’t say it is bad at all. The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell, Volume 2 marks their fifth release. This time, there were no special guests, but it does feature the first song that guitarist Zoltan Bathory ever played and a remake of an old song from singer Ivan Moody. To some fans’ rejoice, I believe there are a few songs on this record that harken back to the self-produced debut album, Way Of The Fist, that many fans still think is their best . I will have to respectfully disagree and stand by my previous review that Volume 1 is my favorite.
Since the songs for both these albums were recorded at the same time, I thought I would give a quick comparison here. Listening to both of them, I felt like Volume 1 was more of a hits CD. With so many special guests, it made each song unique and energy packed. The lyrics seemed catchier because I would find myself singing them throughout the day. Volume 2 is more like a cohesive Five Finger Death Punch CD that you would expect. It was put together well with the song order especially having “The Agony of Regret” followed by “Cold”. This CD had 12 tracks with no bonuses on the regular edition.
The only single at post, for better or for worse, is “Battle Born”. I say that because there are fans out there that don’t like it when Five Finger busts out some ballads. I don’t mind the song. I find it refreshing to breakup all the yelling in your face. It’s ok to unleash emotions other than anger from time to time. It was one of the first songs they recorded after coming off the road, and it really captured how draining the fans can be on you. Guitarist Jason Hook did a great job busting out the 3/4 instrumental part when they were on the road. I think Hook adds so much to the band by helping push the envelope and get the band to try something a little different from the 4/4 chugging rock Zoltan brings out.
Right away, the album comes out with clenched five fingers debuting the hard hitting “Here to Die”. One of the songs that I felt grabbed some of the Way Of The Fist sound. Following this is one of my favorite tracks on the CD, “Weight Beneath My Sin”. It is another hard hitting track, but I really enjoyed the beat drummer Jeremy Spencer laid down. I liked the syncopation of the hi-hat and the snare drum throughout the song and the double bass. Not being a drummer in any fashion, it seems to me like this track was the trickiest to play on the CD. It has a good guitar solo that resolves to a softer section with Moody singing and bassist Chris Kael adding some bottom. Not an exciting bass part though, I was excited to hear Kael getting a little feature. I’m a little disappointed that I was unable to hear a version of this track that had Ryan Clark, lead singer of Demon Hunter, on it. Another Hook influenced song was the fantastic acoustic interlude “The Agony of Regret”. This nicely leads into “Cold” which is a remake of a song from an old Denver band of Moody’s, Black Blood Orchestra. Don’t believe me? Check out the little gem I found below. My second favorite track is “Day In My Life”. I just like the grit from the guitars and Moody’s lyrics. Also, the drums are pretty simple, but I like them. There’s some double bass thrown in there. You can never go wrong with a solid rock beat and that’s what Spencer brings to this song. Again, I could hear Kael’s bass parts surface, and I’m hungry to get more. Plus, the cherry on top is a killer guitar solo. To wrap up the CD, Five Finger Death Punch covered the folk song “House of the Rising Sun” made famous by The Animals. What a fantastic cover! This is the first song Zoltan learned how to play on the guitar. They changed the waltz to a rock beat, and Moody mixed up the lyrics some to really make it their own. Five Finger has done great on all the covers they touch.
Overall, I think I’d place The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell, Volume 2 as my second or third favorite Five Finger Death Punch CD against War Is the Answer. As with a typical CD, there are some standout tracks with some less exciting ones thrown in the middle. I can’t pin point what might be lacking in some of the tracks. Perhaps it’s the lyrics. Every song had some tight instrumentals, but sometimes, a couple sounded pretty similar. I can definitely stop working out though. Listening to Jeremy Spencer go crazy on the drums makes my body exhausted. I see no reason why you shouldn’t go out and buy this CD to formulate your own opinion, but I can bet that you sure won’t hate this CD. Take a break guys, with these two CDs you deserve it.
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